Wet Weather May Mean Big Trouble For Trees During Hurricane Season
WESTCHESTER COUNTY (CBSNewYork) – The Tri-State area has been inundated with rain this year. With the hurricane season underway, some homeowners fear the trees in their yard are one storm away from falling.
CBS2's Elise Finch spoke with Westchester County residents about how serious the "tree trouble" really is.
Roger Bianco's New Rochelle home is surrounded by trees; he worries they could fall on his house during the next big storm.
"Between the roots and the wind it'll soften the ground and these big trees are going down," Roger Bianco said. "There's going to be a lot of problems and not too long from now if this rain keeps up."
The region has seen more than 40 inches of rain fall since the beginning of 2018, so the damage to some trees may have already been done.
Board certified master arborist, Christopher Busak, says the ground is so saturated that water it's pooling in some areas.
"If the water sits too long it becomes anaerobic. There's a loss of oxygen and ultimately the roots that are within that area of sitting water will be choked out," Busak explained. "Ultimately it could drown some of the roots and those roots would die back."
Busak added that heavy rain plus high heat and humidity also damaged trees by allowing harmful fungus, bacteria, and insects to thrive.
Experts say homeowners looking to avoid "tree trouble" need to hire a certified arborist to do an assessment of their property and identify vulnerable trees. With the ground in the Tri-State area being so saturated, even a minor storm can take a weakened tree down.